Air fryer sweet potato wedges are the perfect side dish and ready in 15 minutes! You won’t believe how easy it is to make sweet potato wedges in the air fryer! Season them simply with salt or my special seasoning for an epic meal anytime!
Why you will love this recipe
- Simple ingredients – all you need are 3 easy to find ingredients to make these air fryer sweet potato wedges: sweet potatoes, salt and avocado oil spray.
- Easy to make – the hardest part of this recipe is cutting the sweet potatoes into wedges. Everything else is very simple. Many recipes call for soaking the sweet potatoes in water or coating them in starch to get a crispy exterior. I tried all these ideas during recipe testing and I did not notice the potatoes got any crispier with either of these methods so I don’t recommend you wasting your time or added ingredients with those methods.
- Versatile – perfect for breakfast, lunch, dinner or a snack, sweet potato wedges are the perfect side dish or snack! You can change the seasonings to pair well with any meal!
- Great for quick meals – ready in just 15 minutes, these sweet potato wedges are perfect for the nights you just don’t feel like cooking but know you want something filling. These are vegan, Whole30, gluten free and plant based!
Ingredients
- Sweet potatoes – you want to look for sweet potatoes that are not too thick or too long. When sweet potatoes are too thick, they can be hard to cut into (especially if you don’t have a sharp knife). When sweet potatoes are too long, you have to cut them in half, making the fries shorter.
- Avocado oil spray – you want to find a spray that has no propellent and is just 1 ingredient, avocado oil. You could also use olive oil spray but I prefer avocado oil because of it’s higher smoke point.
- Salt – salt enhances the flavor of the sweet potato fries, making them more sweet and more savory tasting. Even if you decide to put a sweet spin on these fries, you want to add a pinch of salt to help elevate the flavors!
How to make sweet potato fries in air fryer
Check out a step by step tutorial on how to make sweet potato wedges in the air fryer in this helpful story!
Start by washing the potato and cutting it into wedges. Since you won’t be peeling the sweet potato, you want to make sure the skin is clean and there is no dirt on the potato. To cut into wedges:
- First cut the ends off the potato.
- Then cut the potato in half lengthwise.
- Then cut each half in half lengthwise.
- From here depending on how thick the potato was, you will either cut each half in half or in 3 pieces. You should have between 8 and 12 fries from each sweet potato.
Add sweet potato wedges to air fryer basket and spray with avocado oil and sprinkle with salt. Toss with your hands to ensure the oil and salt are coating the sweet potato wedges.
Turn air fryer on 375F for 15 minutes.
After 8 minutes, pause the air fryer and shake the basket. Turn the air fryer back on.
Shake the basket 1-2 more times during the last 7 minutes of cooking to ensure no wedges burn.
Serve immediately or move to a warm oven to keep hot.
Top tips
- Be sure to have a sharp knife and choose sweet potatoes that are not too large to make cutting them into wedges easier. Using a dull knife is more dangerous than a sharp knife since you have to apply more force and pressure when a knife is dull.
- If you see very thin edges on the wedges, cut them off before air frying. The thin parts of the wedge or the ends will burn as the rest of the potato cooks. Typically I will cut away the top of the wedge if it is paper thin or the ends if they are very thin compared to the rest of the potato wedge.
- Don’t overcrowd the air fryer basket – the sweet potato wedges will steam and will be limp, not crispy on the outside if you overcrowd the air fryer basket. The air fryer needs air to circulate to ensure that crispy crunch on the outside of the potatoes.
- Shake the basket – shaking the basket 2-3 times during cooking helps to ensure that the sweet potato wedge are cooking evenly in the air fryer.
- Be sure to use avocado oil or olive oil spray without propellent. Things like Pam and other non-stick sprays actually damage the coating on the air fryer basket. You want to find an avocado oil or olive oil that says “no propellent” on the bottle and the only ingredient is avocado oil or olive oil. Otherwise, toss the wedges in avocado oil or extra virgin olive oil instead of spraying them.
- Change up your seasonings – use salt, the special sweet potato seasoning or any of the spice combinations below to change things up so you never get bored!
- If you are planning on making a large batch of sweet potato wedges, cook them in the oven and finish them in the air fryer to save time. Typically sweet potato wedges will cook in about 30 minutes in the oven, so if you are doing more than 2 batches in the air fryer, you will save time using the oven. Transfer the cooked potatoes in batches to the air fryer at 375F for 5 minutes to crisp up the sweet potato wedges at the end of cooking.
Other spice combinations
Instead of simply using salt, you can instead use any of these combinations of spices. For any of these recipes, omit the salt in the original recipe.
- Special sweet potato seasoning: ½ teaspoon smoked paprika + ½ teaspoon garlic powder + ½ teaspoon salt + 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes – the combination of these spices creates a smoky, savory, slightly spicy sweet potato wedge that is irresistible!
- Cinnamon Sugar Seasoning: 1 teaspoon cinnamon + 2 teaspoons coconut sugar or brown sugar + 1/8 teaspoon salt.
- Cajun seasoning: 2 teaspoons cajun seasoning, ¼ teaspoon salt (plus more at the end depending on how salty your cajun seasoning is).
- Taco seasoning: 2 teaspoons taco seasoning, ¼ teaspoon salt (plus more at the end depending on how salty your taco seasoning is).
- Curry: 1 teaspoon curry powder + ½ teaspoon ground cumin + ½ teaspoon salt.
Note: To ensure the spices are evenly coating the potatoes, you will want to toss the wedges in a large bowl with avocado oil or extra virgin olive oil instead of simply adding the wedges to the air fryer basket and spraying them with avocado oil spray.
Olive oil or avocado oil is drizzled over the sweet potato wedges before the spices are added to help ensure the spices will stick and the sweet potato wedges will crisp up in the air fryer.
Common questions
Do air fry sweet potato wedges get crispy like deep fried fries?
No. Air frying sweet potato wedges are not as crispy as deep frying sweet potato wedges.
Typically restaurant style sweet potato wedges are fried 2 times, once to get them cooked through and once to get them crispy on the outside. You will never get your sweet potato wedges as crispy as they are when they are deep fried.
Should sweet potato wedges cooked in the air fryer be crispy?
Yes! The inside is fluffy and soft and the outside does have a crispy texture, similar to when you bake sweet potato fries in the oven. The air fryer makes them slightly fluffier and a touch crisper but nothing like deep frying them.
Should you soak the sweet potatoes in water before baking?
No, there is no reason to soak these sweet potato wedges ahead of time.
I tested this method and did not notice the sweet potato wedges were any crispier by soaking them. Regular potatoes are full of starch, which is why normal potatoes are first soaked in water, it helps remove the starch and makes them crispy. Sweet potatoes do not have the same level of starch so this method isn’t needed.
Should you coat the sweet potatoes in arrowroot or corn starch to make them crispy?
No. I tested out this method and didn’t notice the outside of the sweet potato any crispier when adding arrowroot powder on the outside. In fact, it almost made the air fryer sweet potato wedges taste like they were coated in flour or powder.
Will these stay crispy?
No. These sweet potato wedges are best right out of the air fryer. The longer they sit at room temperature, the softer they get.
If you want to keep these crispy, have a 250F oven ready and transfer the cooked wedges to the oven immediately to keep them crisp.
Storing leftovers
- Fridge: Store leftover sweet potato wedges in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in a 350F air fryer for 5 minutes or in a 400F oven for 10 minutes.
- Freezer: I don’t recommend freezing these as they will get soggy when defrosting.
If you love this recipe, you should try
- Air Fryer Sweet Potato Cubes
- Air Fryer Baby Potatoes
- Air Fryer Butternut Squash
- Air Fryer Delicata Squash
- Air Fryer Frozen Broccoli
- Air Fryer Carrot Fries
- Air Fryer Rutabaga Fries
Air Fryer Sweet Potato Wedges
$1.27 Recipe/$0.64 ServingIngredients
- 1 medium sweet potato - $0.99
- avocado oil spray or olive oil spray - $0.25
- 1/2 tsp salt - $0.03
Instructions
- Start by washing and cutting the sweet potato into wedges. First cut off the top and bottom of the sweet potato. Then cut in half lengthwise. Cut those 2 halves in half again lengthwise to make 4 parts. Cut those 4 parts into 2-3 wedges each by cutting them lenghtwise into wedges. You should end with 8-12 fries.
- Next add sweet potato wedges to air fryer basket. Spray with avocado oil or olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Use your hands or tongs to toss them well.
- Turn on the air fryer to 375F for 15 minutes.
- After 8 minutes of cooking (the air fryer will have 7 minutes left), pause and shake the basket.
- Pause the air fryer to shake the basket again 1-2 more times in the last 7 minutes of cooking to ensure the potato wedges don't burn.
- Serve hot.
Equipment
Notes
- Be sure to have a sharp knife and choose sweet potatoes that are not too large to make cutting them into wedges easier.
- If you see very thin edges on the wedges, cut them off before air frying. The thin parts of the wedge or the ends will burn as the rest of the potato cooks. Typically I will cut away the top of the wedge if it is paper thin or the ends if they are very thin compared to the rest of the potato wedge.
- Don’t overcrowd the air fryer basket – the sweet potato wedges will steam and will be limp, not crispy on the outside if you overcrowd the air fryer basket. The air fryer needs air to circulate to ensure that crispy crunch on the outside of the potatoes. This is why I suggest just doing 1 potato at a time.
- Shake the basket – shaking the basket 2-3 times during cooking helps to ensure that the sweet potato wedge are cooking evenly in the air fryer.
- Be sure to use avocado oil or olive oil spray without propellent. Things like Pam and other non-stick sprays actually damage the coating on the air fryer basket. You want to find an avocado oil or olive oil that says “no propellent” on the bottle and the only ingredient is avocado oil or olive oil. Otherwise, toss the wedges in avocado oil or extra virgin olive oil instead of spraying them.
- Change up your seasonings – use salt, the special sweet potato seasoning or any of the spice combinations below to change things up so you never get bored!
- If you are planning on making a large batch of sweet potato wedges, cook them in the oven and finish them in the air fryer to save time. Typically sweet potato wedges will cook in about 30 minutes in the oven, so if you are doing more than 2 batches in the air fryer, you will save time using the oven. Transfer the cooked potatoes in batches to the air fryer at 375F for 5 minutes to crisp up the sweet potato wedges at the end of cooking.
- Special sweet potato seasoning: ½ teaspoon smoked paprika + ½ teaspoon garlic powder + ½ teaspoon salt + 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes – the combination of these spices creates a smoky, savory, slightly spicy sweet potato wedge that is irresistible!
- Cinnamon Sugar Seasoning: 1 teaspoon cinnamon + 2 teaspoons coconut sugar or brown sugar + 1/8 teaspoon salt.
- Cajun seasoning: 2 teaspoons cajun seasoning, ¼ teaspoon salt (plus more at the end depending on how salty your cajun seasoning is).
- Taco seasoning: 2 teaspoons taco seasoning, ¼ teaspoon salt (plus more at the end depending on how salty your taco seasoning is).
- Curry: 1 teaspoon curry powder + ½ teaspoon ground cumin + ½ teaspoon salt.
